Many Miles to Walk
by fruiTmajik
Summary: You want to go on a totally unperdicably awesome adventure with our favorite SG people? Well, you'd better. The Scarlet Hand have been gone for two years, but there may be some things much, much worse. Rated T cuz I'm paranoid. Flames roast marshmallows.
1. By the Lagoon

Many Miles to Walk

A Sisters Grimm fanfiction

Chapter One

Sabrina looked out at the lagoon, shining beautifully under the clear, bright sun. She looked away from the lovely scene, turned, and sighed. Granny Relda would be leaving soon and Daphne couldn't be alone in the house for too long, (though Sabrina was technically still in the house, Daphne didn't know that she would be in this room of all places) especially since the Scarlet Hand was at large, and the house was anything but safe-considering the alarming secret the girls held. She heard a low chuckle and instinctively looked up to a blond teenage boy with huge, pink streaked insect-like wings drifting down towards her with a even bigger smirk on his surprisingly pretty, yet very mischievous face.

Puck caught her eye and grinned so hard that it seemed his face would burst with amusement. There was a strange, happy twinkle in his eye as he set his feet on the ground. Only a few steps from Sabrina, he slowly walked forward, the same goofy smirk lighting his usually-though not now, oddly enough-grimy face. He seemed to have finally ditched the old grimy green sweatshirt and ratty jeans. He looked…nice.

"Hey, ugly," said Puck, leaning in to Sabrina, dangerously close. If this had happened two years ago-well, even two _weeks_ ago, she would have run, screaming as she went. However, at the moment, she had intention of running. She should have felt self conscious, should have felt embarrassed, but it didn't come. There were, however, other feelings…

"Why are _you_ here, Stinkpod?" she asked softly, knowing that if he answered, it wouldn't be pleasant. There would only be one reason for Puck to be here again, and it was exactly what they were trying to avoid.

So she did the only thing she could do to insure that he wouldn't speak-she leaned in closer and kissed him. It was nice, yet there seemed to be a deep fire running through their veins, like their first kiss-though that first time the fire had been a all-consuming rage, this fire seemed slower, more passionate. They stayed like this for nearly a minute, as if their lips had been glued together. They both wanted this moment to last forever, but knew it had to end soon. In the end, Puck was the one who pulled away.

They stared at each other for a moment, each daring the other to say what they both knew what they both were thinking. Sabrina raised an eyebrow, as if to say _well, if you're too chicken,_ when Puck suddenly burst out laughing. He swept Sabrina into his arms and took off, racing above the forest that never seemed to end (despite the fact that his room was hardly the size of a walk-in closet when seen from outside the house) and laughing still as he kissed Sabrina again, and she couldn't help laughing with him.

"Going to thank me for not socking you this time, fairy boy?" she asked through her wild bursts of loud giggles.

"No way, you ruined my moment," he laughed back

Puck suddenly landed, laughing even harder (if that was possible) as he saw Sabrina jolt at the shock of it. He set her on her feet and ran to the rollercoaster track. They laughed and ran and played like five-year-olds until they heard a gasp at the door

"I knew you two were in love," Daphne said loudly, laughing at the door.

For a moment, Sabrina couldn't be sure whose face was redder-hers or Puck's. But, when she saw Daphne's eyes widen, then start to tear up because she was laughing so hard, she looked over at the boy fairy next to her, who had literally turned into a giant tomato. She couldn't help joining in.

When the laughter died down the three children were abruptly solemn. They marched out of the room and faced the outside world…


	2. Uncle Jake's Surprise

Chapter Two

**A/N thank you, my awesome 4 reviewers! i agree, lime green (can i call you that?) the OCC scences are WAY overused. And dumb. I tried to do something different...please send to any friends who would enjoy it! You know, the people like us who are geeks and proud of it! Now, on to the update!**

The children raced down the hall, trying to get to the door before granny Relda closed it. The old woman (wearing sandy brown today, the usual dress with matching sunflower hat) hugged the girls and the fairy boy closely, nearly crushing the air out of their lungs.

"Leeblings, look after yourselves," Granny Relda said, looking evenly at each of them, the wide green eyes that were too young for her face boaring into theirs. "Jacob should be back in a few hours, but I have some business that needs to be taken care of," she finished in a rush in her light German accent. With that said, she quickly shut the door and ran to where Snow White's car was waiting, and drove away.

For the last two or so years, granny Relda had to all but hire Snow as a chauffer. The beautiful teacher said that she didn't mind, but it was clear that Snow had been debating for some time weather she should just give the old woman the car-except that Relda Grimm was banned from the streets of many places, including a threat to be hanged if caught behind the wheel in Berlin, and even Hamstead, an old family friend, had told the woman that she was a dangerous maniac when it came to driving. Mr. Canis, who was formerly known as the Big Bad Wolf, had long since died, his old age finally catching up with him. The girls' parents and uncle were, in fact, excellent drivers, but they were often not avalible, taking the one old Jelopie with them. Even Red, the little girl who Sabrina had finally learned to trust, was gone most of the time, meditating in the forest.

So the girls and Puck were stuck alone half the time nowadays, with nobody with the new, strange gaurdian of the family's magic mirror with them.

After everything with the Scarlet Hand had seemed to end, and the Master, the Shadowy leader of the evil group was revealed to be Mirror, the guardian of the Hall of Wonders, and a very close friend of the Grimms, he had, in fact, been Sabrina's very best friend. In the end, though, they had to smash the Mirror, and their friend with it, out of existence. Not even two weeks after the Mirror had been shattered, Bunny White (also known as the Wicked Queen in Snow White,) who had made all of the twenty-odd Magic Mirrors, gave the Grimms a freshly made mirror as a gift for "getting rid of that terrible hand." Sabrina found that this new Mirror was deliberately a lot like Mirror, but only a ghost, a bitter mockery of her friend.

Unfortunately, as usual, the rest of the Grimm family Daphne and Puck included, wouldn't listen to Sabrina.

"Oh, Leebling," Granny Relda had said, "Just give Mirror some time, he is just like he has been,"

"I don't know why you're so krill about this," Daphne had added, nearly rolling her eyes. Before Sabrina could ask, the little girl had continued, "It's my new word. It means 'uncool or stubborn,'"

Her parents had been just as passive, and Uncle Jake had done nothing but pat her on the back. Though out of all the unhelpful answers, it was Puck's response that had bothered her the most.

"Don't push them, ugly," he had told her quietly, "You know what happened the last time you lost your temper with all of them,"

Of course, all of this had happened nearly two years ago, so Sabrina should be over it, right? But of course she wasn't. She had made very little progress with the new Mirror (she still refused to just call this one Mirror) in fact, she avoided the new Hall of Wonders completely. Of course, she had to train, but the moment granny Relda said the lesson was over, she would bolt, not letting the nostalgia wash over her.

Sabrina thought about this as she researched with Daphne and Puck, now mulling over how strange it was that Puck was actually _reading_ for once.

At first, the children would stick to the adults on their "business" and "missions." They quickly discovered that these trips were usually long, boring stakeouts. It got to the point where not even Daphne would come.

And so they did their own things for a little while, but Puck ran out of TV programs, and things to do in his room; Daphne's play days with Red dwindled to nothing as the cloaked girl went more and more often to the forest to meditate, and Sabrina completed the few model airplanes at the bottom of her father's closet that weren't quite finished.

So now the children would often be found pouring over fairy tales for hours, hardly having more than a few one-sided conversations (the other parties providing little more than "mmms" and "yeahs") and, if one child was lucky, a story they came across would be reasonably funny. They would talk, of course, after they all put down their books for the day, but when they were immersed in their stories, talking was a lost cause.

At exactly six o'clock, Uncle Jake stepped through the front door, closing and locking it quickly behind him. He strolled across the room and sat down on a stack of books, looking gravely at the three children.

"You must swear that you will not go on Hank's next mission," he said firmly, staring at the girls in particular.

Sabrina understood immediately-they were going to do something interesting for this one in particular. They had never been forbidden to go before, so it was bound to be dangerous.

The girls shared a look that seemed to mean _It'll beat research,_ and they set off on the blond man in the huge overcoat across from them.

"We can't do that," Sabrina said, raising an eyebrow at her Uncle.

"Something smells fishy," Daphne added.

"What will they be doing?" Sabrina asked, something in her tone telling her Uncle that he couldn't avoid the question.

"Mom wouldn't like this," The grave man said, "We're going to confront Heart."

**Oooooh! Cliffy! Always remember to R&R, and SEND TO YOUR FRIENDS! Thank you thank you THANK YOU! For reading!**


	3. Two Arguements

Chapter Three

**Sorry for the wait, there's just been a lot going on. I'm starting school on Wednesday (Middle School SUCKS!) And I've been running around on errands and shopping and stuff, and my best friend has sort of been having a hard time…but don't worry, I haven't forgotten about you guys! And have you read my OTHER awesome fanfiction, THE WAND THIEF? It's a crossover…**

"You _what?"_

"Nine of diamonds and three of clubs were doing something with a…machine," said Uncle Jake, grimacing, as if at an unpleasant memory.

"A machine?" Daphne asked

"It was pumping out these…bowls. Like…fish bowls. Little glass balls with a hole in the top. They looked…sinister. Like there was something wrong with them."

"Evil goldfish bowls?" asked Sabrina "What does this have to do with the Queen of Hearts?"

"Nothing, as far as we could tell," Jake said vaguely, "Your parents won't be home till late, so you'd better get some dinner. I had to come home and watch you kids, but they're going to stake the place out for a while."

"But why can't we come on the mission this time?" demanded Sabrina

"It's obvious, isn't it?" said Puck bitterly, "They think we can't handle fat old Heart."

"No it-"

"I AM AN EVERAFTER, AND I DESERVE TO GO!" yelled Puck angrily.

There was a long, uncomfortable silence. Finally, Jake took a deep breath.

"We can't stop you from going, Puck, but the girls will _not_ go."

"And why is that? We've faced stuff a lot worse than Heart. What about the dragons, the armies, not to mention Jack, Nottingham, Rumplestiltskin, and a whole bunch of other everafter freaks!" Sabrina ranted, staring at Uncle Jake in hurt and confusion, and he just stared back at her calmly.

"I can't lose any part of my family again," Jake said quietly.

"You're not going to." Said Daphne of all people, authority of all tones leaking into her voice, "but we're coming Uncle Jake,"

Oddly enough, Uncle Jake stopped arguing, and let Daphne's remark close the subject.

"Let's get you kids some dinner,"

They took it as surrender.

Dinner was a quiet affair, as Uncle Jake was a bit put out and the kids had nothing to say. The kids all heading for bed shortly after they were done eating, knew that they would need extra rest.

While Daphne was in the only bathroom, brushing her teeth, Sabrina and Puck stood alone in the hall, waiting for her to finish. Puck smiled at Sabrina and touched her face, and she flushed tomato red, feeling like a little kid waking up and realizing that it was Christmas morning. She stared into his bright green eyes, and liked what she saw.

There was a low click and a surprised giggle, and the two older children knew that they had been interrupted by Daphne. _Again._

Sabrina rushed to the bathroom, taking cover. She closed the door behind her, and locked it. She sank to the floor and leaned against the old oak door, practically hyperventilating. She heard Daphne and Puck arguing in the hall, but she didn't pay any attention to them.

Why did Daphne have to keep popping up out of nowhere? It was as if she was being intentionally nosy…

The arguing seemed to be getting worse. It was getting harder to tune out, and she heard Puck say something that sounded strangely like "love…"

Sabrina's head snapped up, and she had every intention to eavesdrop now, seeing as they were talking about her, anyways, she had a right to know what they were saying.

"Look, Marshmallow, it's none of _your_ business about what's going on." Puck said angrily. Sabrina wondered if Uncle Jake could hear them, and the thought of it made her cheeks go even redder.

"Yes, it _is_ my business, Puck, she's _my_ sister!" Daphne retorted.

"Well, it looks like I'm going to end up _marrying_ her, so that makes _sister_-"

"What if she doesn't _want_ to marry you?"

There was a low growl, and the sounds of both of them stomping away.

**I know this chapter is short, but I can promise another chapter tomorrow. I know, I know, but it would have been WAY too long otherwise. And I can also promise that there will be a back story involved. Say it with me…**

"**I will be satisfied with updates, even if they are short."**

**What? Oh, come ON. *Dodges evil goldfish bowls***

**I guess I should have known better than to expect so much patience from people on fanfiction.**

**Love always,**

**-Liz**


	4. Backstories

Chapter Four

**Thanks to that little stunt with the tomato, (death glare) here's another chapter. You had better review now. And NO GOLDFISH BOWLS!**

**One of the 'voices' (you knew I was crazy, right?): bonus points if you review and use the words "bowls," "throwing," and "goldfish" 5+ times!**

**Me: shut up, Stanley.**

Sabrina sat on the bathroom floor for what seemed like hours, thinking about the whispered argument. What did Daphne know? Sabrina was fourteen now, and Daphne was only nine. The little girl didn't know anything about love. Or whatever was going on between her and Puck.

This whole thing had started years ago, not long after Sabrina and Daphne had moved to Ferryport Landing. There had been constant allusions, jokes, and teasing pointed towards Puck, Sabrina, and their would-be relationship. After the girls had been there for a few months, Sabrina found that she liked Puck-though she fiercely denied it for a while.

They had grown steadily closer over the following year, and there were several awkward conversations that I won't bother writing about, since I know that you've already imagined most of them, some of them involving whispered "I really like you" s and blushing, one of them even a swift kiss on the cheek.

But nothing tangible, really, had happened until two about two weeks ago, when granny Relda of all people was teasing them. Puck had simply snapped.

"Yeah, I like her!" Puck had snapped angrily, and all too loudly.

He had regretted the words as soon as they were out of his mouth, but he had regretted those words the moment that they had left his mouth. He had dashed upstairs and slammed the door on his room, and Sabrina had suspected that he was trying to drown himself in the lagoon.

Though she had been blushing so deeply that her face had almost looked as if it was on fire, she had looked over at granny Relda, as if to ask whether she should go stop Puck from drowning. The old woman had nodded, and Sabrina had nearly flown upstairs and through Puck's room door.

He had not, in fact, been in the lagoon, but sitting pressed against the one wall in his room, much like Sabrina was now. He had leapt up when he saw the door open, and when Sabrina came in, he had walked straight to her as she closed the door. She hadn't seen him, and she almost screamed when she saw him, as he was almost on top of her.

He had pulled her close and kissed her angrily, and, to Sabrina's great surprise, she was kissing him back. Their anger and embarrassment seemed to dissolve, and they pulled apart as quickly as they had come together. It was different from their first kiss, and yet exactly the same. Had that really been more than two years ago?

Once her lips were free, Sabrina had told Puck that granny thought that he was committing suicide, he had told Sabrina to tell the old lady that he was fine, but Sabrina knew that he just wanted to be alone. She had told granny Relda exactly that, and then sat in her room for a long while, thinking about what had passed. Just like she was now.

A soft knock on the door startled Sabrina, and she got up to unlock it. On the other side of it stood her mother, who was looking a little tired.

Veronica looked her oldest child up and down, drawing the conclusions that were rather obvious now. Taking in the pajamas, messy hair, and tired, slightly puffy eyes, she looked Sabrina straight in the face and asked what was wrong.

"It's about Puck…" Sabrina said reluctantly, since she had no experience with mom-sponsored boy talks.

"Oh," said the girl's pretty mother, who was obviously holding back a squeak of delight. She pulled Sabrina into her lap and squeezed her gently. "What about him?" Veronica managed to ask without sounding too elated.

"Well, it's Daphne, too…"

Her mother raised an eyebrow.

"I…really like Puck now, and Daphne…"

"Doesn't." her mom finished.

"Yeah…"

"Sabrina," her mother said slowly, "My parents did _not_ like your father when I met him. Do you remember why we never visited them?"

Sabrina shook her head, remembering nothing about her grandparents except for their double funeral. (There had been a terrible car crash.)

"Oh. We weren't welcome for a long while because of your father. When you were six, they came around and invited us over for Thanksgiving. We refused. I've been sorry that I held that grudge ever since." Her mom said sadly.

"Didn't they die a week after Thanksgiving?" Sabrina asked cautiously, seeing a moral coming ahead.

Veronica nodded.

"Oh," said Sabrina, letting it drop.

"She'll come around sometime, Sabrina. And when she does, I want you to accept her apology," Sabrina's mother said just a little sternly.

"But she isn't mad at me." Sabrina half asked.

"She will be for a while, after she finds out that you really _do_ like Puck,"

"She does," Sabrina growled.

"But it sounds like she thinks that you don't like him as much as he likes you, which doesn't seem like the case," said Veronica understandingly.

Sabrina knew that the girl talk was over. "Thanks, mom," she said, giving the woman a tight hug.

"Now," said Veronica said in a more mom-like tone, "It's 1:45 in the morning, and I want to take a shower. Go to bed."

Sabrina marched off to her room, and crawled into bed next to her sister, noticing it was a little quieter than usual until she realized that Daphne's usual snores were absent.

"Daphne?" Sabrina said softly into the darkness.

"Yeah?" The little girl responded.

"Love you forever."

"Why?" Daphne asked groggily.

"Because you're my little sister, that's why." Sabrina returned with a smile.

There was a long pause, and Sabrina would have thought that Daphne had fallen asleep, except that Daphne still wasn't snoring.

"Sabrina?" the little girl finally said.

"What's up?"

"Do you really like Puck?" Daphne asked sadly.

Sabrina swallowed loudly. "Yeah," she said around a lump in her throat.

"Do you love him?" continued Daphne, sounding a little scared.

"I don't know," Sabrina answered truthfully.

"Do you think you'll marry him?" Daphne asked, sounding a little hopeful.

"Well," said Sabrina slowly, as if measuring each syllable, "I'm not sure. I mean, if he ends up like the Puck we met from the future, probably. But I don't think I would now. I think that this morning might have been the first time in two years that he took a bath." She said jokingly.

Daphne didn't fall for it.

At the end of this long silence were Daphne's familiar snores, accompanied by the sounds of the beginning trickles of a light April shower.

Sabrina sighed, rolled over, and fell asleep.

**Oh, holy swearwords. Blankity blank, blank, blank. Now Puck is hurt, Daphne is mad, and Sabrina is really…sad. R&R and PLEASE send to your friends!**

**Love always,**

**-Liz**


	5. Many Miles They Walked

Chapter Four

**Sorry you had to wait! I just started school again and I'm home from church sick at the moment, so I took the opportunity to update. You'll make me chicken soup, right? Thanks! *sips top ramen***

**Oh, and I never posted any disclaimers (oops!) so no matter how much I wish I did, no matter how much I could make off of the franchise, I do not own the Sisters Grimm. Or anything else. Except this top ramen. Well, I don't own ramen, but I do own this bowl of it! Yay!**

Like Veronica had predicted, Daphne was angry in the morning. She was getting to be really pouty lately. She ate her electric blue sausage in silence, and snapped uncharacteristically at Elvis when he started begging for some. Even if sausage made him gassy.

Puck completely ignored Daphne, but everyone else seemed genuinely concerned for the little girl. Amid all of the drama, Sabrina had nearly forgotten about today's mission. The moment Granny Relda closed the door behind her, the adults jumped up.

"Get your coats if you're coming," said Uncle Jake, "I tried to keep them home, Hank," he said, addressing his brother, "But they refused to stay. Would you rather that we were there to keep them safe, or would you like them to sneak out?" he said to the girl's furious father.

"Dad, we've dealt with much worse than Heart," Sabrina reminded him.

"Even if you have, you need to stay and watch Basil," the tall man stammered.

"Basil isn't here, remember? He practically lives at Ms. White's house."

"Elvis needs company,"

"Henry, that's ridiculous!" exclaimed Veronica, fuming, "The girls are coming, along with Puck, if he wants to."

So everyone ended up cramming into the decrepit car, the three children and Uncle Jake squeezing into the back. Daphne sat as far from Sabrina and Puck as she could.

Sabrina rolled her eyes, and, as if to prove a point, she took Puck's hand and wrapped his around her own. Uncle Jake raised an eyebrow, and Veronica squealed with delight. The girls' father did his best not to notice, using driving as an excuse to look anywhere but at his daughter and the fairy boy, but his eyes tightened just a bit.

Puck seemed bewildered and surprised, and definitely quite smug.

"When's the wedding?" he asked in her ear.

"How should I know?" she whispered back, smiling.

Fortunately, nobody could hear their quiet exchange over the noise of the car. In fact, if his lips weren't in her ear, she would have hardly been able to hear him yelling.

Yet there they were, in their own personal bubble again. Sabrina knew that kissing Puck was unwise at the moment, so she bit her lip. He seemed to be having the same thought, and so they both grinned. They would save the mushy romantic stuff for later.

They arrived two blocks away from Heart's apartment, parking in a hidden alley. However, they walked in the direction opposite Heart's place. Hand in hand, Puck and Sabrina followed the rest of the family, continuing the conversation in the car.

"So, I was talking to Marshmallow yesterday…" said Puck, his deep green eyes clouded, as if he was trying to hide the hurt and wonder in them.

"I heard." Sabrina replied curtly.

Puck nodded as if he expected this. "Did you hear the end?"

"Yes,"

"Well, I was…wondering. Do you…?" he began shakily.

"Do I want to marry you?" Sabrina put in helpfully.

"Yeah. That."

"Well," Sabrina began, wondering how she could repeat to Puck what she said to Daphne last night so calmly, "If you keep being nice, I might consider it. When was the last time you pranked me?" she asked playfully.

Puck looked taken aback, as if the question had hit him in the face.

"Well…I put maple syrup in your shoes," he said hopefully.

"That was before…" started Sabrina, then she quickly re-routed her statement, "That was weeks ago."

Puck got a familiar mischievous look on his face. "I'll have to catch up," he said with a twinkle in his eyes.

"Nothing to my hair," growled Sabrina, "and nothing that will wake me up,"

"You're cute when you're irritated," commented Puck with surprising ease.

She smiled as she dodged away from his lips. "Not with my dad here, he's bound to not like it. And we shouldn't push Daphne any further."

Puck rolled his eyes, but obliged. Sabrina took this as a good sign-maybe he wouldn't feel the need to prank her!

"In your dreams," laughed Puck, reading her face.

Sabrina slapped him on the back of the head **(A/N Gibs Slap! Who here watches NCIS?)** and he poked her in the side in return. They had to constantly remind themselves that they weren't supposed to attract attention. They ended up having to pursue their lips to stop from laughing constantly.

They must have gone the length and width of the town, many miles they walked, and even on the edge of the almost commonplace dangers, being together was enough-even if the togetherness was only a silent grin or a gentle squeeze to their entwined hands.

Yet, in case you haven't noticed, it's only when everything is perfect that everything has to take a sharp turn for the worst, because moments of bliss often occur amid clouds of struggle.

**R&R! DO IT! Make my favorite blue button happy!**

**Love Always,**

**-Liz**


	6. Stakeouts and Snowstorms

Chapter Six

**Don't you feel lucky-two chapters in one day!**

**This chapter is dedicated to…LAURA D! logged in or not, I have just decided that you are my favorite. So ha-ha. You want to be my favorite? Then review! Review, review, review! And send to your friends, don't forget that. You must get bonus points like Laura D! This bonus point round is about sending this to 5 friends (and don't pull any funny business) and have them include your screen name in the review! Haha! So I get reviews and readers, and you guys get invisible bonus points! And you get this story, because I will cry and stop writing unless I get at least 15 reviews.**

**Disclaimer: I am paranoid at the moment, and in my paranoia I think that Michael Buckley is after me! Nooooo! Spare me! Eat my neighbor's annoying chihuahua instead! Yes, Brownie will taste fine with a little salt! What was that? You'll get over your cannibalistic ways if I say that I don't own your awesome Sisters Grimm books? That's it? Okay! It's a little weird, but I do not own the Sisters Grimm!**

**Now that I've made you wait a bit, onward!**

The odd group of six finally stopped in front of an old building with peeling industrial gray paint and paint-blackened windows that were all smashed to bits. They looked in through the gaping holes and saw an odd half-dozen card soldiers busily hovering around an odd contraption that looked like it was made out of a bunch of old air vents, a few busted microwaves, and several rolls of duct tape.

Stranger yet was what it was making. It looked almost as if it was pumping out shredded bits of Styrofoam packing peanuts. Huge jars of glitter sat in one corner, and stacks of shining glass balls about the size of a baseball with a sharp-edged hole in the top (they seemed deformed and tortured) were hastily shoved into a closet with one door in splinters and another hanging off of its hinges. Everything glinted red in the December sun, as if slightly bloodied.

"Ew," muttered Daphne, probably speaking for the first time all day.

They waited for hours, sitting on the hard, cold ground as a few snowflakes drifted onto them, sticking in a thin layer on the dead grass. Puck's wings popped out of his back and wrapped themselves around Sabrina, much like they did years ago, when they were fleeing the Ferryport Landing asylum. Henry scowled at this, but said nothing. Daphne was suddenly quite interested in a dead weed still sticking out of a crack in the cement around the building.

Why was Daphne so upset now? She used to delight in saying that Puck was going to end up as her brother-in-law, but now she was being all sulky. Sabrina considered about fifty different ways to sway the little girl as they all sat there as quietly as they could-they cheated with a few whispered conversations, but those didn't count.

Finally, when the blinding sun was directly overhead, the Jack of Clubs mentioned something about their shift ending soon, and reporting to "the boss." This got everyone excited.

"Why didn't we just go to Heart's apartment in the first place" Puck asked, disgruntled.

"We couldn't, remember? I tried to get in, but I couldn't. Looks like you two lovebirds were too busy to notice," said Uncle Jake with a wink.

Predictably, their already cold-flushed faces went cherry red.

"If it isn't Heart, it's Nottingham," said the girls' father confidently, "They'll lead us right to Heart,"

However, this wasn't the case. When the cards all left, they went to a lowly warehouse near downtown. So everyone had to find a good spot of ground near this place. It was windowless and tiny, but Uncle Jake fiddled with the pockets of his overcoat until he found what looked like a pair of reading glasses.

He peered through them, arched an eyebrow in surprise, and handed the glasses to Sabrina, who was closest to him.

It was amazing. There were about fifty card soldiers (the whole deck?) crowded around what seemed like a tiny bit of floor. Huh. That's…strange.

She passed them along to Puck, who looked quickly and handed the glasses to Sabrina's mother, who passed them to Daphne, who saw something the others had missed.

"Look at what they're all holding," she said, passing the glasses back to her mother, causing her father to huff in frustration-he hadn't gotten a turn.

When Sabrina looked more closely, she saw that each card soldier was holding a package of cakes and a juice box.

They were the "Eat me" cakes and "Drink me" beverages from _Alice in Wonderland._

"They've shrunk someone!"

Veronica nodded in approval, having obviously coming to the same conclusion.

"May I _see_?" Henry, looking annoyed.

The reading glasses made their way back down the line, but Uncle Jake had something to say about that one.

"Hey! Those are mine," he said crossly.

"Well, I didn't get to see at all!"

"Too bad. Could you toss those down to _me_, Shortstuff?"

"Daphne, listen to me. Give those to me _now._"

"But I-"

"Hey, cut it out you two!" said Veronica severely.

"He st-"

"-IF YOU SAY THAT HE STARTED IT I WILL HAVE TO FINISH IT WITH MY FIST!"

This shut the two of them right up.

"Now, Daphne, if you could give those to be so I can keep these two out of trouble…?"

Everyone but Sabrina and Puck, who huddled together again in the cold, was now irate from the squabble. In fact, the two of them were shaking with silent laughter.

The snow was coming down heavy now, and if the Grimms weren't careful, they would end up buried. They didn't want to leave a mark, but with the way it was snowing it didn't seem to matter. Wordlessly, they all got up and moved to the shelter of a nearby pine tree.

Sabrina and Puck sat in the back of the group, and they were all but forgotten. It was better like this in many ways, like they could grasp hands in the cold, Puck could keep his wings around Sabrina to warm her without being scowled at by Henry, they could stare into each other's eyes without being stared _at_. They never got to be mushy like this; it was like they were having a conversation, or trying to memorize the color.

The two older children hardly noticed the hours pass while they were having the time of their lives, wrapped close together for warmth and laughing and talking so quietly that Daphne, who was obviously straining her ears to hear them, couldn't pick up a breath of a word.

But it all came to a sudden end when Veronica, who was keeping watch through the glasses, suddenly stood up.

"Come quickly," she said, running into the forest.

Nobody hesitated.

They crashed through the snow-covered streets, leaving obvious footprints behind them. Obviously, they weren't looking for stealth, but to outrun. They skidded across streets, over low roofs, around corners, and even through a closed gas station mini-mart. They tried desperately to find a way to hide their prints, but failed until Uncle Jake pulled a fairy godmother wand out of one of his many pockets, and blew a whole lot of snow over their prints as they made it finally back to the car.

They sped down the road towards the Grimm house, looking anxiously over their shoulders for card soldiers.

"Wow. That was close." Sabrina sighed.

"We'll have to go back tomorrow," said Henry, exhasperated.

"Are you crazy?"

"We need to find out who and why they're making those bowls and bits of white stuff…and how it all relates…"

"Time for detective work!" Daphne squealed in spite of herself.

"Great," Sabrina groaned sarcastically.

**You like? DON'T FORGET THE BONUS POINTS!**

**Love Always,**

**-Liz**


	7. Why Henry Isn't Allowed to Cook

**Hey, guys! I'm soo sorry I didn't update sooner, but I have some excuses! …But you'll disregard them anyways, so I'm not even going to bother.**

**Get to work on those bonus points-Laura D is still #1! So work with me here!**

**Oh, and anyone who can solve the mystery gets a real surprise-start reviewing and PMing me answers. I refuse to give out hints outside the story, so don't ask.**

**Disclaimer (which I almost always forget) I do not own Sisters Grimm, even if I own my mystery! Mwuahahaha!**

When the group got home, they were greeted by an uncharacteristically grumpy Granny Relda.

"I am going to be doing some detective vork tomorrow," she said in her light German accent, and pouring some kind of odd, shockingly orange mushroom sauce onto the zebra casserole, then popping the dish into the oven.

"Oh, what a coincidence," said Sabrina cautiously, "So are we."

The old woman opened her mouth as if she wanted to speak, but then closed it, walking away from the kitchen. "Watch the oven," she called as she climbed the stairs, "We don't want the dinner to burn,"

So now Sabrina was stuck in the kitchen, watching the stupid casserole.

Predictably, she wasn't alone in the kitchen for long. Her parents, Henry and Veronica, were sitting on either side of her. Sabrina shared a meaningful look with her mother, and knew that this was about-you guessed it-her and Puck.

"Sabrina?" Her father began, "can we talk to you for a minute?"

"Obviously, since you already are," the girl replied coolly.

"Okay…so, um, your sister seems…angry lately, and I was wondering…"

"Why?" She suggested helpfully.

"Yeah," He said blandly, "Why."

"Well, uh…"

This definitely wasn't the most comfortable conversation she had ever had. He dad was an obvious pro at awkwardness when it came to boy talks. Thankfully, it was then that her mother snapped.

"Look, honey. You aren't good at this," said Veronica, not bothering to spare her husband's feelings, knowing that they wouldn't be hurt anyways. In fact, he looked _really_ relived. "Sabrina? Do you remember our talk last night?"

"Yeah,"

"I was right, wasn't I?" Veronica pressed.

"You were. She's gone completely psycho."

"You mean like with the cotton candy spiel?"

"Worse. But you knew that."

Henry looked completely clueless, but determined. So Veronica asked him to stay and watch the casserole while she and Sabrina went upstairs for some girl talk.

So now _he_ was stuck watching the casserole, a fact that made his little brother giddy with laughter-which was unusual, since Uncle Jake had been a bit _too_ quiet after Briar died, and, in fact, he refused to be anywhere near princesses anymore. Which was odd in and of itself for the former romantic.

But, somehow, Henry let the casserole burn, making Granny Relda go from irate to berserk.

"THAT ZEBRA CASSEROLE WAS A VORK OF ART! YOU HAVE RUINED IT!" she screamed, serving the blackened dish in gooey chunks. She hadn't ever been mad about food before-unless it involved Elvis and sausages.

"Mom…" stammered Henry, sounding truly afraid.

"No! I know about your little job today, and how you lied to me about it! You, Henry Grimm, are to blame!" Granny Relda seemed to blurt out.

"But Jake-"

"I KNOW that you want to blame your brother, like you do every time! You should know exactly how long I've put up with _that_!"

The family ate dinner in silence, the charred casserole tasting no worse than it would have in the first place.

When Sabrina got up from the table, Puck wordlessly followed her, daring everyone to comment. Daphne scowled.

Sabrina led the way to Puck's beautiful room, with him on her heels.

"Why are you going in here, Grimm? I don't remember giving you an invitation," he teased, smirking.

"Your room is likely to be the only one in the house that we can stop people from eavesdropping," she returned, thinking on her feet for once.

Puck nodded, and scooped Sabrina up.

"Hey, I can walk on my own," she protested.

"I wouldn't be so sure," he said with a grin, "Where I'm taking you is pretty far, and I doubt anyone could listen to us there."

"And where do you think we're going?"

"To the other end of the room. I've only been there once and it's pretty boring, but Marshmallow would never make it there." Puck's smile was dazzling, and smug, as if he had just gotten a Grammy and told a great joke in his acceptance speech.

Sabrina wondered in horror what could possibly be there to make him look like that, but then realized that she had vowed to herself to trust the fairy boy, since he seemed almost incapable of pranking her anymore.

As if he had read her mind, Puck started to say something about it being stupid to feel too comfortable and prank-free, as he was working on the ultimate plan for her humiliation. Shortly after, he was reminded that she had an excellent right-hook.

Rubbing his jaw, Puck said, "But, you know, it doesn't change a thing," he said quietly.

"Doesn't change what?"

"Remember what I said…after we got out of that stupid book when you were twelve?"

She remembered. He had said that, if they got married ever, (which was an idea that they were both bitter-sweetly rejecting at the time) that they shouldn't change anything. That they should keep up with the insults, the pranks, and the mutual "hate" between the two of them.

"So…let me get this straight," Sabrina started, smiling ruefully, "Your insults and pranks…that's just your way of being all mushy and romantic?" she said, not remembering weather she was supposed to be horrified, embarrassed, or flattered. So she pretty much just sat there with a dumb look on her face.

Puck, amazingly, blushed and looked down, his shaggy, dark blond hair hanging into his eyes. He brushed it out of his would-be royally pale face, his moss-and-emerald eyes staring at the treetops rushing past below them.

"You looovve me," Sabrina teased, her own smug smile creeping up her face. "You love me sooo much," she said, hoping James Patterson wouldn't try to sue her.

"Get used to it, Grimm," he said, and felt remarkable-like a huge weight had been lifted off his chest. He felt like it had been there for a long while, perhaps years. Since the day he'd started aging. Since the day he'd been pushed into a pool by Sabrina Grimm.

Feeling dizzily light hearted herself, Sabrina replied with a "I don't think that will be too difficult,"

Had she thought _light hearted_ thirty seconds ago? She hadn't known what that was until now. And by the look on his face, Puck felt the same.

Isn't it funny how these things work?

**Oh, and guys? Credit for this last catchphrase goes to Saharasiam. She's writing a pretty epic fic of her own, so you should check it out!**

**See that little blue button there? Well, hes mah buddy, and hes a pyromaniac. And he gets lonely whenever you don't click him. And when he's lonley, he lights things on fire. REVEIW! Or mah buddy, Stanley, will start commiting arson!**

**Love Always,**

**-Liz**


	8. The Mice Of Doom

**Heyy, you weirdos. I'm trying something new-changing setting mid-chapter. Three little stars means new place. Also, sorry for the mini-hatius. I feel so bad that I stayed up until two in the morning for you! Now that's devotion!**

**Shoutout: La****ra**** D, sorry for misspelling your name so many times! Let's hear it for our **_**fourth chapter running **_**bonus point leader! Way to go, Lara!**

**Disclaimer: It sucks, but I own nothing.**

**WARNING: THIS CHAPTER INVOLVES THE SEVERE MAIMING OF RODENTS. SOME CONTENT MAY NOT BE SUITABLE FOR MICE UNDER THE AGE OF FIVE MONTHS.**

Sabrina had never given too much thought to love, before she came to Ferryport Landing, that is. But now, it seemed like all she ever thought about. Puck, Puck, Puck. Whatever.

Daphne was older now. But she needed her sister. Puck used to be perfect for her, but not now. It would be for the best if they broke up. How could her_ sister_ be so selfish?

"How could _you _be so selfish?" asked Red, almost making Daphne jump. Red was seven and sweet as ever, but she had gotten to know Daphne so well that sometimes Granny swore they could read each other's minds.

"Hi, Red," said Daphne, surprisingly sourly.

"You're only nine, Daphne," said Red gently, suddenly seeming mature for her years. Even though she was really, like, 200 plus.

Daphne scowled.

"Wanna color?" Asked Red, either not knowing how or not bothering to be subtle.

Sighing, Daphne went upstairs for the box of crayons. She handed them to Red.

"Not today," said Daphne, watching the hurt spiral in Red's dark brown eyes. "Don't look at me like that, it had to happen sometime," the little girl finished.

Somehow, Daphne felt even worse after this.

She saw the adults talking in the living room, and felt a pang of guilt that she wasn't helping with the investigation. She walked toward them, knowing that she was going to feel empty without Sabrina there. She had seen her and that _fairy_ slip into his forest room-probably to make out or something. And she didn't even know what that meant!

"How's the case?" She asked Uncle Jake glumly.

"Well, I've been reading through some of the family journals…" said Jake, but Daphne heard nothing after this. She was too busy staring at the cover of one book in particular. This one was a battered old copy of Lewis Carrol's works about Wonderland.

She picked it up, and started leafing through it. She had already read this one, but still. At the very back, on one of the blank pages, were the words _The Mice Are Watching._ In fancy, flourished script that was barely legible.

What the toothpicks?

Daphne almost called her sister over to look, but then she realized that she was with Puck.

Life sucks, sometimes.

"Hey, Mom," she said, startling Uncle Jake into shutting up. He had been going on about how they had shrunk Heart, possibly Nottingham. But she had known that already, from the glasses.

"Yes, sweetie?" Veronica looked into her youngest daughter's caramel-brown eyes, concern filling her own.

"Look."

She saw the writing, and her eyes widened, and her brows shot up above her hairline.

"I looked something up in that about a half hour ago, and that defiantly wasn't there," The dark haired woman half mused, half accused. But she had quickly realized what she was doing, thinking that a _nine year old,_ wrote that.

"_The mice are watching…_"

Sabrina and Puck were hovering over a small island in the lagoon, with a tiny grove of maybe seven coconut palms, and miniscule picnic benches in a semicircle, centered on the isle. It was so…_un-Puck._

"This. Is. So. COOL!" said Sabrina, sounding _way_ too much like her sister. But she couldn't help it. …At least she wasn't biting her palm.

Puck chuckled lightly, kissed Sabrina's forehead, and set her lightly on her feet, keeping one arm wrapped around her waist. She walked absently to a large rock that jutted out over the water, its crystal clear waters reflecting onto her face as she stared at the coral formations, anemones, and multi-hued fish swaying with the gentle tide. Puck sat next to her, and, thankfully, was silent for a while.

Then, out of nowhere, there was a rustle of leaves behind them.

Both of them jumped up and whirled around to see who it was.

They saw diamond-white sand, dotted with a few shells. The worn tables, the trees, the lagoon, the hazy shape of a white wall in the distance.

But nobody was to be seen.

Sabrina looked at Puck out of the corner of her eye, as if she was asking permission to freak out. Puck shrugged, no matter how tempted the author was to make him nod and get them to synchronized panic. No matter how funny that would be, I, the author, need to move this plot forward at least a little. And stop talking to you, the reader, like this.

They stared at the ground suspiciously. The trees weren't quite thick enough for a grown person to hide behind…

Practically reading Sabrina's mind, Puck said "There's no way Marshmallow could have known we were here. And not even that kid could manage the swim here, it's about fifteen miles to the main shore,"

"And how far to the door?" Sabrina asked, her lips trembling.

"I don't know. Hundreds of miles."

For this, Sabrina had no reply. She glared at the palm trees as if she was suspicious of them, then sat slowly in the shade on a picnic table.

She heard scurrying.

Puck whipped out his wooden sword, and began brandishing it in midair, challenging some invisible foe. Sabrina leapt up and held her fists in a good defensive position.

There was a small amount of laughter coming from an old coconut shell, then a "Shh!" at the base of a tree.

They pounced on the coconut shell, surrounding it easily.

Sabrina lifted it slowly, and then screamed.

Everybody had looked at the writing in the back of Lewis Carrol's thick volume about fifty times through various magical items of Jake's. Nothing appeared through the revealer, the Eyes of the Ring of Omniscience, or even the so appropriately named "See Invisible Ink," an invention of Beauty's father.

Mysterious mouse enthusiast: one. Grimm family: zip.

Daphne: Negative four thousand, two hundred, and thirty six.

Why was she being so irrational? She was nine! Puck was her friend! And Sabrina was her sister! Grr. She was like a hand grenade with the pin out-and people didn't seem to be holding down the spoon too well.

She would explode one of these days.

Squirming around on the sand was a small, insignificant brown mouse. But it looked sort of weird. Sabrina couldn't quite put her finger on it, but this mouse creped her out somehow. It didn't look…natural.

"Eew," Muttered Puck. He blew into his wooden flute, calling his pixies. They hovered around him in a cloud of greenish yellow.

"Minions," He ordered, "Dispose of this foul creature."

The pixies all charged at the mouse, which smiled. Suddenly, every pixie that came within two feet of the mouse was on the ground, appearing to be wingless and dead.

"Don't worry," said the mouse, smiling. Its voice was eerily like Michael Jackson's. "They are simply paralyzed. Their wings will have grown back in a few weeks." The mouse's yellow eyes (is that why it looked so weird?) sparkled as it turned to Sabrina.

"You, however, will have to die, Sabrina Grimm."

**Oooh! Cliffy! Aren't you proud of me? Now give me a big hug! And don't forget to R&R. And send to your friends! Bonus contest is still open!**

**Love Always, and may the gleeks rule the world,**

**-Liz/fruiTmajik**


	9. Death's Rattle

**Okay, I'm *yaaawn* really freaking tired. But I can't sleep. So I'm writing. Warning: this chapter was started at 2:36 AM. It will probably be weird.**

**Disclaimer: I probably don't own anything in this story, except the OC that's coming, and the plot. So I own nothing that is already owned by Micheal Buckley and whatever publishing company he uses! Oh, and I don't own the mouse person either.**

**Warning: this chapter has three deaths in it, but there won't be any lasting damage. There isn't much blood (in fact, I can't remember any actual blood) and people **_**do **_**freak out, but you don't need to. I'm doing this part of the story as sort of a Halloween chapter so, yeah.**

**Here. Have a chapter.**

"My name is Despereaux," continued the mouse with an air of _I'm famous, so you should already know that._

Sabrina raised an eyebrow. "I've read your story. Aren't you supposed to be a good guy? Soup and saving the princess and stuff like that?"

"I was at one time," said Despereaux dully, "But my soul was stolen by a rat," Despereaux paused, as if waiting for them to question that statement, but they didn't. So the mouse (who, Sabrina noticed, had no tail and was rather small for a mouse; even if his ears were oversized) simply shrugged and continued. "After I saved Princess Pea, I returned to the dungeon. I had to save Miggery Sow, for she had wandered back into its depths.

"Well, Botechelli was there, and he is a very evil rat. He placed a ruby before my eyes, and I have been this way ever since."

"That's very sad," said Puck casually, "But we have places to go, people to see, innocent civilians to torture-that kind of thing."

"You will not leave," said Despereaux. "I will kill Sabrina Grimm. She will be one of us shadows."

"What?" Sabrina asked, alarmed.

"The shadows are everywhere. Even in the brightest light, shadows are cast."

With this said, Despereaux pulled a long sewing needle from a loop of red thread, which he was using as a belt. Swinging it like a sword, he turned back to Sabrina.

"With one prick of the needle, you will die. If I need to, I will also poke your fairy friend. However, he will not die as an Everafter. He will merely suffer the same fate as his pixies."

Sabrina closed her eyes in relief. Puck would live. No matter what happened to her, Puck would still be alive.

Puck stepped sideways so that he blocked Sabrina from the mouse's view. "Not a chance, cheese boy," he said, and he promptly stomped on the small mass of brown fur.

Daphne pursed her lips. Something seemed obvious here. She just wasn't sure what.

She stared blankly at the page (Hans Christian Andersen's _Rose Elf_, where the main character is certainly small enough,) and then snapped the book shut in frustration. What was the point anyways? This case would be just another dead end in a whole series of dead ends.

But she was still a Grimm. This was what she would have to do.

Sighing, she picked the book up again, when she started to wonder-why did she pick the Rose Elf anyways? Why did she start with a character already so small that he would dance on butterfly wings?

Then it hit her. The cakes and the juice boxes were for the card soldiers themselves. Not whoever was in the middle. In fact, if Daphne wasn't mistaken, that warehouse would be either empty, or empty other than a deck of cards-if they could ever go back, that is.

Things had just seemed to get a little brighter for Daphne.

"Ooooow!" cried Puck. He had apparently stepped on Despereaux's needle.

At first, Sabrina was simply a little annoyed at Puck. He wouldn't be getting much sympathy from her for st-

Oh.

_Oh._

"Puck!" Sabrina squealed, wild-eyed.

She rushed to his side, but he was unconscious, and his wings were shooting into his back-quickly. Working strictly on impulse, she leaned down and kissed him.

His eyelids flicked open, but closed again, as if he physically couldn't move more than that. This was likely.

She then took Puck's wooden flute from his pocket and frantically blew into it, calling the few pixies that hadn't been touched by Despereaux's magic. The few that came did so reluctantly.

"Minions," Sabrina said unsurely, "Follow my every order without question," She continued. She was, of course, trying to sound like the boy she…loved who was passed out on the ground.

The pixies seemed to shake their heads, then shot off into the forest.

Great. So she and Puck were stuck in the middle of freaking nowhere with no way out, the only food being coconuts, the only water salty, and to top it all they were surrounded by the bodies of about a thousand pixies, not to mention the evil mice.

Survival 101: when you are in this situation, bury the evil mouse needle the first chance you get.

You guessed it: Sabrina just stepped on the needle.

She was going to die.

Relda sat in her room, with its walls covered in tribal masks and one giant sword. She hadn't heard Sabrina or Puck for more than three hours.

So the old woman walked down into the old living room, seeing Daphne, Jacob, Veronica, and Henry sitting and researching.

"Daphne," said granny Relda, doing her best to be sensitive to the little girl, "Have you seen your sister?"

"No," returned the raven haired girl curtly.

"Oh, well then. We'll have to find her." Said Granny Relda, smiling just a little to herself-this little adventure could put her mind at rest while cheering Daphne up. Or she would like to think. This would be difficult, regardless.

She took the little girl by the hand and began to lead her through the house, towards Puck's room.

"Oh, dear," said Relda when she stepped into the forested eutopia. "Zey could be anywhere,"

Indeed, the room was immense, and a whole lot messier than it was the first time Relda saw it. She would have to teach the fairy the concept of "cleaning" soon.

"Sabrina!" shouted Daphne through the trees. Oh, well Relda was getting old. She hadn't even noticed the little girl leave her side. "Puck! Where are you?" The child continued.

Relda was just thinking that she should go request a certain item from mirror when she heard a soft "Squeak!" in the grass a few feet away.

She walked over and stooped down, looking for the source.

"Oh, hello, friend." Said Relda, a smile lighting up her dimpled face. It was an adorable gray mouse. "And what would you be doing here?"

"Squeak!" chimed a mouse behind her, this one a little lower pitched. A boy, perhaps?

Suddenly, the old woman found herself surrounded by a sea of brown, gray, and white fur. "Squeak!" was heard from every direction.

"Heavens, why are you all here?" said Relda calmly.

The only black mouse in sight lunged forward and sank its teeth into Relda's leg before she could fight back.

With a gasp, granny Relda collapsed.

Daphne turned back through the trees, going to granny. It was pointless wandering any more, and she had already checked the trampoline, the boxing ring, the ice cream truck, the rollercoaster, and the hidden place that supplied Puck with hamburgers and birthday cakes.

When she broke through the trees, she thought, at first, that she had come to the wrong place. But that was before she saw the motionless old woman in a bright purple dress and a matching sunflower hat lying on the ground.

"Granny!" cried Daphne, truly scared. She bolted, going straight for the door and down the stairs into the living room.

"Mom! Dad! Uncle Jake! Its Granny!" shouted the little girl.

"What about her?" asked the younger blond man, jumping to his feet.

"Come with me!" Said Daphne, rushing up the stairs and to where granny was.

But when the group got to where the old lady had been, she was gone.

"I…I could have sworn…" stuttered Daphne, who was now in code red freak out mode.

Her father raised an eyebrow. "I saw her right there when we came in. When I blinked, she was gone."

Every part of Puck ached. Really, even with this puberty thing, even all of the fights he had been in, hadn't been this painful.

He stretched slowly and got up. Opening his eyes, the first things he saw were his pixies, which were just starting to wink halfheartedly with light. They were on the ground, and he didn't see any wings.

"What is this, minions?" asked Puck bossily-like he was trying to tell them off sort of bossy.

"We have been injured, master," Said the pixies in their echoey voice. They only ever spoke to him with their minds, so he was the only one who could really communicate with him.

"I see," said Puck with distaste, "If you die, don't expect a proper funeral, since I hear they cost a lot of money."

"Yes, master."

The next thing he saw was the mouse's body, and the needle next to it, which he picked up and threw into the lagoon. The water turned bright red.

The details of that incident were definitely coming back. He looked around for Sabrina, and finally spotted her on the sand ten feet away.

She was asleep, her face a lot gentler than it ever got when she was awake. Well, that seemed to be changing in Puck's case, but still, she was anything but serene and calm.

He knelt beside her, gently stroking her face. But something was off. She was too still, and ice cold. Stiff as a board.

Oh, crap. She was dead and it was Puck's fault. Traitor tears streamed from his eyes, and he knew he had failed. He slung Sabrina over his shoulder, and tried to take off.

No wings.

It was less convenient, but Puck tried a hawk.

Still no wings.

Okay, so Puck was swimming. But once he got to the shore, he would have to walk.

Many, many miles he had to walk.

**Review, or my alter ego, Thalia Brightember, will murder you in your sleep.**


	10. Being Dead is SO BORING

**I'm going right into the story today, so many hugs to the people who reviewed, happy late Halloween, and I don't own anything.**

Sabrina's eyes slowly came open, feeling weighted as if her lids were made of lead.

She was alone as far as she could tell, in a dark room that didn't seem like it was made of anything she had ever felt before. It was as if she was under water, but breathing as easy as if she was in open air.

The first thought that came into her mind was mouse.

For no particular reason, as far as she could tell, but it seemed like it was important. What was so important about a mouse…?

The next thing she thought about was Puck. Which sent a flood of memories rushing through her brain.

Was she really…dead?

It seemed impossible. She had just been on that island with Puck, trying to keep away from Daphne's cold glare. And then there was that mouse from a book her sister knew much better than her. A book that had said something about soup…

Urg. It was hard to think here, wherever she was. Everything was so vauge, and distant. It was like her mind was a plane, with both engines exploded, so it was spiraling downward towards the rapidly approaching earth.

"Okay," she said with a deep breath to herself, noticing the strange echo in this place, "I need to figure a way out of here."

She tried pushing herself to her feet, but there was a small problem: her limbs felt rather detached, and she couldn't tell whether she was sitting or standing. In fact, concepts like "up" and "gravity" seemed to have no affect on her.

So she gave up on the "standing up and walking around" thing, settling instead for straining her eyes for any pinpoint of light.

She eventually discovered that she was spinning around like yarn tightening into a ball, but very slowly. There _was_, however, a small dot of blue light very far off. She did everything she could to go towards it, but found this impossible after running, swimming, streamlining herself for flight like she had done with Puck, and simply willing herself to be there failed her.

She closed her eyes again, (there wasn't much to look at anyways,) and felt the gentle pressure of…something around her. She still couldn't tell what.

Tracking lessons with Mr. Canis years ago rushed back to her, telling her to keep focusing on all of her senses.

So she tried hearing. And, much like with her sight, after a lot of effort, she heard something. It was echoey, and distant, but she could just make it out.

Crying. Crying was definitely dominate.

Footsteps. Snapping twigs. Crunching leaves.

The twitter of birds. Wind in the trees.

Waves crashing to the shore.

Sabrina's eyes opened again, this time with the velocity of a Ferrari at the end of a big race.

"Puck," she said, her own (open, like I just explained) eyes streaming with bitter, salty tears.

_You know, you can ask for anything._ Said a voice in Sabrina's head.

"What?"

_I am the Rose Elf. I whisper to you in your dreams._

Rose Elf…it was familiar. She had read a story about him, she was sure, but she had skimmed over it, in a hurry to read everything she could. She did, however, remember it as a fifteen on the "bloody" scale of one to ten.

"Where's Puck?" Sabrina demanded of the creature, who was now undoubtedly labeled as "Everafter."

_He is right here, with us, but you cannot sense him. For he is also thousands of miles away._

"So," said Sabrina in disgust, "I'm pretty much dead."

_Yes. But no, all the same._

"And what is that supposed to mean?" Snapped Sabrina, losing patience.

_You are in mortal peril. Beyond comatose. You could easily die, right here, right now, but I suppose you could say I'm your spirit guide. I'm here to keep you from dying, because that would be much worse than bad._

"Great. Does Puck know about this?"

_He believes you dead. That, indeed, was him you just heard crying._

"What about Granny, Daphne, Uncle Jake, and my parents?" Pressed the twelve year old, her voice strong yet strongly shaky.

_They were searching for you, but have forgotten. Your grandmother suffers a fate same to yours._

"Oh, great. So I'm not the only one," said Sabrina to the Elf sarcastically.

_Shall I take you to her? I have a great influence on things._

"Duh." Muttered the impatient blond, knowing that the Elf had already known her answer.

_Brace yourself, Sabrina Grimm. Things are about to get very interesting._

It felt like flying in the middle of the night: exhilarating and yet terrifying. Sabrina resisted the urge to scream, knowing that it would do her no good as cool air raked her cheeks, even if that odd pressure was still pressing against her fair skin. It was a unique experience, to say the least.

The green light was coming closer and closer, and Sabrina slowly found herself able to focus on individual things around her. It seemed as if someone had upturned a poorly decorated house to see what would spill out, the suspended these objects in midair. Everything from tacky 60s Barbies to a rickety chair that would most likely be placed by a fire sped past.

"Okay. Where _am_ I?" asked Sabrina, doing her best to keep the rising bile back.

_The best I can say at the moment would be a darker branch of Wonderland. I've seen nothing else like it._

Ooh-kaaay, then, she may as well have been in one of her mom's Tim Burton movies. **(AN: WOOTS!)**

_We'll be stopping very quickly in a moment. Best prepare yourself._

The stop was, indeed, sudden. Sabrina would have normally stumbled, but as there was nothing to trip over other than…substance she couldn't very well trip.

But she got a much bigger shock from seeing Granny Relda.

_Dear, dear me. This is not good at all._

~*!*~*!*~

Daphne stared out at the ocean, thinking to herself that it was her fault. Just like her sister used to, she had been selfish, and she had torn everyone apart. Now Granny Relda was _dead,_ and Puck and Sabrina were nowhere to be found. The case was still up in the air, but nobody was doing anything about it due to this very, very unlikely plot twist.

But, yet, life was going on. Slowly though it did, time passed. Even when that was the last thing she wanted to happen.

~*!*~*!*~

Puck had to stop sometime, and he knew it. He had definitely convinced himself that Sabrina was just asleep, though any person in their right mind wouldn't dare call her anything but dead. Well, if they knew what you readers do then they wouldn't, obviously, but this didn't seem like rocket science. And she wasn't sparkling or anything, so she _couldn't_ be a vampire.

But Puck was clinging to this small hope that Sabrina was asleep; he would never survive otherwise. He had always known that Sabrina would die, but so soon? He was really glad that his chimpanzees were nowhere in sight, and that his pixies were in a haze, because he would rather eat his own feet than he, the Trickster King, be seen crying.

To be or not to be? Ugh. He was _not_ going to quote Shakespeare, the guy was just some idiot who wrote his part out wrong. He would _never_ say all of those stupid poems, even if he was paid.

Glad for some distraction (_any_ distraction, even if it was Shakespeare) he continued to mentally abuse the sixteenth century's most beloved playwright. But the knife plunged deep into his ribs was still there-this distraction was just and Advil. It dulled the pain, but he was still in critical condition.

His feet were made of lead, they must have been. Why else would he be having so much trouble lifting them? Oh. Right. Because he was carrying Sabrina's body.

Duh.

**R. and. R. Or I will sneak into your house in the middle of the night and eat your cookies. Then DIE! …just kidding, but do it anyways!**


	11. Shadows

**Hey, you mutants! I have many excuses for being lazy, but no matter how much I talk about the wonderful snow, my best friend, MP3 players, or the dreaded school, you won't accept any of them. I want to thank the amazing…107? People who visited this story on November fifth! You guys rock! So I just have a few notices:**

**I updated the content on the last chapter. See that little menu with the chapters? Click on the one that says "10. Being Dead is SO Boring"**

**Also, if you have any ideas, or even if you want to flame me, you are welcome to share them. Flames roast yummy marshmallows!**

**Disclaimer: I probably would get sued if I said I owned anything. So… I own nothing!**

Daphne had been scared a lot in her lifetime, much more than any other nine year old you're likely to meet.

Getting stuck in the future with psychotic Everafters, dragons, and giants? No biggie.

Her parents being kidnapped, then stuck in a deep sleep? In hindsight, it didn't seem so bad.

But somehow, granny Relda's death, and disappearance, was the single most frightening thing Daphne had ever experienced.

On top of this, her sister and best friend were gone, nobody understood _anything_ she thought anymore, and the case was still at about nothing.

"Stay close," said Henry to the little girl, an air of unquestionable, yet shaky command in his voice. "Whatever got Mom is going to want more,"

Daphne just nodded, seemingly incapable of doing more.

*~*!*~*

Sabrina stared at her Grandmother, unable to believe her eyes.

The old woman hardly looked human. She was almost completely black, the only color on her blue. It was as if someone had made a wax sculpture of her (Using only the color black, of course,) then shone a tinted light over her head, casting deep shadows on her already impossibly dark face. She looked…molded, as if she was motor oil hardened in a human – shaped cast. Sunflower hat and all.

"Do _you_ have any ideas?" Asked Sabrina desperately.

_Um…I would suggest running, but you can't physically move much in this state so…panic? Send your evil bunnies of doom after her?_

"Oh, sorry, I left my rodent army at home!" Snapped Sabrina sarcastically.

_Talk to her! See if she can communicate! Make social progress…_something!

"Uh…Hi, granny Relda," said Sabrina, feeling stupid in spite of it all.

"Yes, Leibling?" Answered the shadow-granny in a too-sweet, distorted voice.

Officially creepy.

"Are you…okay?" Sabrina asked, thinking that she would have peed her pants if she was physically able.

"Oh, yes, dear. You haf nothing to worry about."

Sabrina was pretty sure that that made her _anything_ but un-worried. In fact, it sent her into a boiling hysteria.

"Granny, we need to get out of here. We could die soon, and-"

"I'm sure we'll be just fine," Said Granny Relda, a slow smile dimpling her smooth, black cheeks, "_Leibling,_"

_We need to get away_ The Elf inserted abruptly. _This isn't good at all. I'm going to take you…elsewhere._

The strange rushing sensation passed over Sabrina once again, and she felt herself lurching to a sudden stop, glad that the blue light was even farther away than before. Only now did she realize that the blue light _was_ her Grandmother.

"Okay, Elf-Boy," seethed Sabrina, "Now what are we going to do?"

_Your Grandmother has become a shadow._

"A Shadow? And what do you mean by that?"

Sabrina halfway knew the answer as she had a sudden flashback of both a hundred years ago and five minutes.

_"You will not leave," said Despereaux. "I will kill Sabrina Grimm. She will be one of us shadows."_

_"What?" Sabrina asked, alarmed._

_"The shadows are everywhere. Even in the brightest light, shadows are cast."_

Urg. She really needed to get the whole "time" thing into perspective.

_She has been possessed. When mortals are pricked by the enchanted glass, they go into a sort of limbo, much like you are in. If their soul cannot endure the pain, they become a shadow. The shadows exist solely to lure others into their state, which is what makes them so dangerous – entire societies have fallen from their wrath. You cannot actually die, unless your will is strong enough. It seems that Grimms have always been of stout heart, yet your Grandmother has been taken. Her strength was lessened quite a bit once that terrible Mirror stole her body. Her soul became weak._

"Why can't you just…bring me back?"

_You have suffered physical wounds. Returning you at this moment would be quite…unwise._

"So I just have to sit this out. Let my soul endure the ultimate torture." Sabrina was feeling rather put out.

_Pretty much, yeah._

"Then go and tell Puck to get off his stinky fairy butt and heal me!"

~*!*~

"Mom?" Asked Daphne, curled up on the couch.

"Yes, honey?" Replied Veronica thickly.

"Shouldn't we be working on the case?" The little girl questioned.

With a soft sigh, tears still trickling from the woman's eyes, she turned to face her nine (almost ten!) year old. "I'm very proud of you," whispered Veronica "But I'm not sure how we can continue on without Relda," her voice broke on the last word. "We still don't know where your sister and Puck have gone off to, either. It's almost been a full day since we saw them last."

Daphne glanced at the old clock at the wall. Five-thirty-nine PM. Time had gone by much more quickly than she ever would have imagined.

"The last time we almost abandoned a case it only made things worse," said Daphne, crying with resolve. She picked up a random book and began flipping through it, until she realized that she was holding a bright pink copy of _Witches & Warlocks – Get in Shape!_ She tossed the useless volume aside and began to search for something of value.

Just then, the old doorbell rang shrilly.

"I'll get it," mumbled Uncle Jake, slowly getting up and crossing to the front door. Opening it with only a slight squeak, he shrank back quickly as he saw who it was.

"I…hello, Rapunzel," Uncle Jake used to have a thing for princesses, until his girlfriend, Briar Rose, died a few years ago.

"You have to help me," said the tall, blonde woman, "Because I know how to get Relda back."

~*!*~

"This…sucks…so…much." Wheezed Puck as he scaled a hill, the constant stream of tears still running.

Yeah, "This sucks so much" seemed to sum everything up very well. Puck laid the beautiful girl on a rock at the top of this miserable mound of dirt, and buried his face in his hands.

The Trickster King had never just sat down and cried before, not even when his own father had denied him his birthright. Not even when he thought that Moth had killed Sabrina.

Maybe that was because it was _his_ fault this time.

No! He didn't believe that, he just couldn't. Sabrina Grimm was not dead. She couldn't be dead. He would give anything to keep her alive, he might even give up his wings! …Okay, that wasn't a very bold statement now, as he couldn't fly anyways at the moment. But now that he actually knew that he (as much as he hated to admit it) loved someone, the entire world seemed to have a different kind of color to it.

_The sweetest things usually have a bitter aftertaste._ Said a voice in Puck's head. _And love is the truest to fit that of all._

Puck scrambled to his feet, taking on a sloppy karate stance. "Who's there?" He automatically commanded into the darkness.

_There is no need to worry, but you must follow my instructions with haste. Sabrina Grimm's life may depend on it._

"I'm listening," said Puck, a glimmer of hope in his eye.

_The wound on her foot must be healed. Where the needle pricked her. Use your magic, for it is the only way to make this any better. _

He quickly pulled off the girl's sock, exposing the pinprick to air. He said a few words in the Fearie language, and the small puncture in her skin was healed. With a few more choice words, her bloodstream was flushed free of any poison the needle might have had, so long as it wasn't an old Fearie brew.

_Good. She will wake as soon as she is rested. After that, however, you must be on your own. I cannot help after that, and be warned – the shadows are dangerous. You mustn't do this alone._

Puck had no idea what that little voice just said, and he didn't care. Sabrina was alive, and she would be awake soon.

The tears streaking his face were now coming much, much more slowly.

**Yeah, that chapter was short-ish. Be glad you have a chapter at all! R&R, or I will send my own rodent army after you. And they have maces on chains lit on fire shot out of a cannon into orbit!**


	12. Paradox?

**Hey, people. I'm SOOO sorry I haven't updated in FOREVER, but my laptop is dead! The only time I can really get on the computer is A) when I'm at school, pretending to do homework in the library and B) when my brother lets me on his.**

**Also, I've noticed that I've been getting a lot of readers, but not reviewers, so click that little blue button, even if you aren't actually a member of FF or not logged in. Reviews make me happy, and I might just have to stop updating if I don't get enough. So let me make this simple: once I have a total of 25 reviews, I update, ok? That should be easy, considering the fact that I'm getting at least a hundred readers every day, usually more! Woots!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Michael Buckley's amazing story. *Sigh* Someday, Buckley. Someday...**

**Anyways, here's your chapter.**

The hours dragged by slowly, every heartbeat filling Puck's blood with adrenaline and anticipation. He knew that the elf guy had told him Sabrina needed sleep, but it was…just…taking…so…long. Puck put his ear to her chest for the millionth time, and got excited when he heard a pulse. It was slow, and unsteady, but it gave Puck a spark of hope.

It occurred to him then that he hadn't tried to wake Sabrina up. You know, the traditional way. A kiss. Her cheeks were beginning to flush with color, her fingers twitching. He leaned in and kissed her softly.

Her deep blue eyes opened. All Puck could do is smile, and for two reasons; Sabrina was alive, and he didn't have to keep building suspense.

"Puck," She said, pulling herself upright, "We have a problem."

*~!~*

"Umm…what?" Was all Uncle Jake could manage to stammer.

"I _said_," Rapunzel annunciated every syllable carefully. "I know how to bring Relda back. Oh, and Puck and Sabrina are on their way," She added.

Jacob Grimm blinked. Then blinked again. Did you know that you're constantly blinking? Apparently, the girls' uncle had to do it dramatically and manually.

"Well, don't leave her standing out in the cold," Said Veronica finally, clearing some books off the sagging old couch to make some room for the radiant princess.

"I don't have much time…" Rapunzel said unsurely, but she sat nonetheless. Daphne _almost_ wanted to bite her palm, like when she was little. Like a few weeks ago.

"You were saying?" Asked Veronica with a cool expression, as if she was slightly annoyed but capable of not showing it.

"I have connections," The tall blond began, "With the rose elf." Rapunzel looked mildly surprised that nobody (except you readers) knew what this was about. When nobody said anything, she went on; "I am sure you are all familiar with the Hans Christian Andersen story, (if not, you are past due to Google it.) about a sprite who witnessed the murder of a sister's lover. He whispered to the girl in a dream, much like he was doing for your daughter." Once again seeing the confused faces, the princess sighed and explained how Sabrina almost died, but got better.

"So, the same thing happened to Granny Relda?" Daphne asked.

"Yes, and no," Rapunzel mused, an overlong blond curl spilling from the towering braid piled on top of her head. "Relda could not get Rose's help, you see. She was turned into a shadow. Don't ask me what they are," She warned. "I only know a little, and you won't like it."

Jake seemed to be fighting against his flirtatious instincts. "Too bad, princess," He said, leaning on a particularly large stack of books, which had been fashioned into something of a chair, courtesy of Daphne and Red nearly two months ago. "We need to know."

Rapunzel sighed again. "Shadows were created a long time ago, before most recorded fairytales. A magician, by the name of Zephyr, wanted to create a magical army. For this, he created the shadows.

"But his idea went out of control. The shadows were much too powerful for him to keep control of, and Zephyr was consumed. Their sole purpose is to multiply, to swell until the earth is covered. Most of the world has been oblivious ever since, but the secret has been passed along for longer than anyone can remember." The story within a story concluded, as the author was too lazy to elaborate any more than that.

"So…Granny Relda is a soul-sucking freaky shadow thing now?" Daphne asked, thoroughly freaked out. Rapunzel nodded sadly. "What can we do?" The little girl asked immediately. This made her parents beam proudly, just a little bit.

"For now? Don't accept any gifts, unless you know for sure where they came from. Don't leave the house unless you absolutely need to. Sabrina and Puck will return in about eight hours. They will know what to do from there." Rapunzel got up, re-zipping her coat and donning her hat, which I have no idea how she fit it on over her hair, but she did. "I may be back tomorrow; it all depends on Puck and Sabrina. Be careful." With that, she got up, and the family listened as her expensive heels gave muffled clicks on the sidewalk, and her sleek, brand-new sports car started with a catlike purr, swung out of the driveway, and sped down the road to Ferryport Landing.

*~!~*

"Yes, I know we have a problem," Said Puck, pulling Sabrina to her feet. She swayed unsteadily. At this turn of events, Puck slung her over his shoulder and began to carry her.

"No, like a real problem," Sabrina said, trying to get down. Puck kept a firm grip on her, not wanting her to fall. She glared at him, but fell limp. She explained to Puck about Granny Relda, exasperated.

"Oh, so the old lady is a bad guy now?" He asked, worried.

"Looks like it," Sabrina said sadly, "Unless we can find a way to get her out of this…trance."

They were quiet for a while, nothing but the sounds of leaves crunching under Puck's feet and birds singing in the treetops.

"Why aren't we flying?" Sabrina asked finally.

Puck raised an eyebrow, then Sabrina's mouth formed a small "O" and she felt rather stupid. Puck smiled ruefully, then set her down so he could kiss her. After kissing him back briefly, Sabrina pulled away, her eyes sparkling. "I think I can walk now," She said breathlessly. Instinctively, Puck reached for the blond girl's hand, and took it in his own. She smiled. Being dead can change your perspective really quickly, you know?

By the time midnight had rolled around, they were starting to see the remains of smashed, half-eaten birthday cakes, and the empty shells of glop grenades. Sabrina felt a bubble of hope well up somewhere around her stomach, smiling at the idea of going home at last. Well, actually she WAS in the house, but let's move on, shall we?

*~!~*

"The children must be disposed of," The tall shadow said to his crowd of fellows. They chattered with gleeful wickedness.

"The fairy boy will be our housekeeper." One said.

"No," One disagreed crossly, and it could be assumed that she was once female, due to her higher pitched voice. "I want to keep the little girl, she will make this place much less dreadful."

"Who are you calling dreadful?" The first demanded.

They proceeded into a flurry of punches and kicks, which did almost nothing to one another.

"SILENCE!" The leader called into the outbreak of noise. They all quieted instantly. "The older girl has slid from our grasp. I have a great need for Sabrina Grimm." He surveyed his audience, and chose the most capable looking. "Gates! Savage!" He called.

Two very evil looking indeed rose to meet him at the stand. "Yes, master?"

"Bring me Heart. I must give her instructions."

**I know, the last part was pretty weird, but I watched The Dark Crystal recently and my brain jumped to fanfiction, so there you have it.**

**Review, or you shall feel the wrath of my corncobs.**


	13. Warm Welcomes and Unwanted Guests

**I. Feel. Incredibly. Guilty**

**Yeah, you remember me, the author who's lucky to put out a chapter or two a month, rewarding faithful readers with Hatius? Well, I'm back, and I don't even have the excuse of getting frozen in carbonite.**

**I will HOPEFULLY update more often as of now... and as much as I hate to admit it, I do not own Sisters Grimm, which is the glorious creation of Micheal Buckley.**

**You hace waited more than long enough. Have a chapter, already!**

Breaking over the horizon, the sun's warming rays were a comfort to Sabrina's sore limbs and frozen skin. Puck seemed just as uncomfortable, but also just as unwilling to show it. Reaching out for the fairy's hand, but unsure whether it was out of affection or need of support, she grasped it tightly as they climbed over the crest of yet another rippling, forested hill.

Denying themselves rest for the ten billionth time, they passed an invitingly springy clump of weeds, continuing their many miles of walk. Hoping for little more than another decline, Sabrina found herself staring in the face of a chimpanzee. The two teenagers (okay, so Puck was centuries older, but he looked fourteen,) grinned at each other, knowing that they must be getting close. Indeed, the wall looked much nearer then before, and if she squinted, Sabrina could make out the outline of the rollercoaster.

Too tired to run, they sped to a brisk walk, the sooner to get back. With a pang, Puck realized that he hadn't eaten for more than thirty six hours. After almost dying, and walking for so long without eating anything, not even the senile blond girl would turn down granny Relda's cooking.

Oh, wait.

*~!~*

Daphne woke with a start. Again. She checked the clock, like she had every other time, and discovered that it was almost four in the morning. They should be back in about half an hour!

Springing out of bed, Daphne bounded to the kitchen, where she got herself a _Subele,_ which looked something like an electric blue mango, but tasted like extra-cheesy tacos. It was her favorite.

Ignoring the fact that she had been so angry with them not even two days ago, she sat out in the hall by Puck's door, eating the strange fruit. Soon, a small and silent crowd of fellows joined her, waiting for the girl and the fairy boy to return.

Daphne checked her watch again. 4:36 AM. Uncle Jake had started to tap his foot, and it seemed to get louder as the room got thicker with jittery silence.

Finally, a feeble, but wholeheartedly excited whoop sounded from the other side of the door. The knob turned…

A high pitched "ding-dong" rang to the upstairs. Cursing, Henry went to get it. Upon opening the door, he saw The Queen of Hearts herself standing out in the blowing snow, holding a large, beautifully wrapped gift in scarlet patterned paper.

"Hello, Mr. Grimm," She said with a rather disturbing smile. "I just dropped by to say Merry Christmas, and deliver this lovely present to you."

From up the rickety old stairs, Henry Grimm heard his family celebrate the return of his daughter and would-be son in law. Heart's plastic-y smile went wider than the Cheshire Cat's.

"Umm…" Was all the poor man could say.

"Oh, just a little trinket I picked up, I assure you. To…apologize for my soldier's poor behavior a few days ago." The overweight queen replied, patting at the edges of her powdery, pasty makeup with a handkerchief.

Narrowing his eyes, Henry was about to slam the door in her face, when the woman walked right past him, setting the gift down under the mostly ignored Christmas tree. Nodding at the rest of the troop, whose grins were fading at the sight of her, Heart stalked out of the house.

Sabrina's eyes followed the Everafter all the way down the driveway, then the highway. This didn't feel right…

"Come on, I'm starving," Said Puck finally, winning himself a smile from Sabrina.

They scavenged the fridge for Granny Relda's only normal food, finally coming up with a handfull of grapes and a few apples. These Puck gave to Sabrina, then he got himself a jar of what could only be compared to pickles. He emptied it into his mouth, and Sabrina made a face at him.

"Urg, you're so gross." She said, biting into an apple. To her dismay, it tasted like meatloaf. Sigh. There were some things that would just never change, would they?

He grinned at her, and deliberately burped loudly. Sabrina didn't know whether she wanted to laugh or scowl. She went with scowl, but it cracked almost immediately into a questioning half smile.

Even if it was weird, Sabrina was starving. She finished all of the weird fruit (the grapes were rock hard and weren't unlike peanut brittle in taste) in a rush, then found herself digging through the fridge for more. She ate almost a loaf of (thankfully, just wheat) bread, all the while gulping down glasses of water from the ivory sink.

Finishing their hasty meal, Puck and Sabrina went back into the living room, where everyone was debating what could be going on, here.

"Rapunzel told us to not accept anything," Daphne was reminding them. She was just finishing the _Subele_, and she held the pit between her almost decade old hands. She stared at it, avoiding her sister's eyes. Sighing, Sabrina sat down next to the little girl, giving her a vice-like squeeze of a hug.

Daphne instantly broke into her usual sun-dazzling grin, and hugged her sister back. Both girls' faces were a little bit wet, a few traitor tears escaping their usually controlled expressions. The rest of the family waited quietly for a moment, and then joined in a mega group hug.

It felt good to be in this big embrace. Even Elvis, eager as usual, joined in with much of the face licks and running between legs. After a long, bittersweet – after all, Relda was still gone – moment, they melted off slowly and returned to their discussion.

Daphne, now completely absorbed, had something of a gut feeling about this. She went through her notes with her sister and mother over and over again, having the same kind of conversation too many times.

"Okay, so we have the card soldiers in the gray building-" The little girl would begin.

"-They were making white stuff. And there was a bunch of gold fish bowls." Sabrina would answer. "And then the warehouse-"

Daphne would nod earnestly. "And the cards crowded around that spot of floor! Don't you see? It was one of the mice, like the one that attacked you!"

Sabrina would think about this, and then agree.

"But what were they _doing_?" Puck would muse, only halfway involved in the conversation. "And what was with Heart? That lady really needs some plastic surgery…" He would do something gross and usually gassy at this point. The girls would wrinkle their noses, and then he would get slapped.

By then, the conversation would be spiraling downward, one of the adults would intervene as they came close to a mild fight (not a good idea in a room so full of books) and they would all sigh and sit back down. They got less enthusiastic every time.

"Mouse." Daphne droned, sounding much like a robot.

"Goldfish bowls," Sabrina imput halfheartedly.

What Puck wanted to say he just barely knew not to. Or, at least, not out loud. Because it was very rude, indeed, and Sabrina would be likely to sock him.

So he let out a very hearty belch, instead.

Unfortunately, it was at this exact moment that Henry happened to walk in the room, and plead with his whole heart that, if for nothing else, his daughter would decide to dump the devious fairy boy for his unusually gaseous digestive tendancies.

As the day winded down, it seemed to loom over the Grimm family in a foreboding manner.

Around three that afternoon, Uncle Jake came in through the front door, causing his brother to raise an eyebrow.

"You left?" The elder of the brothers Grimm, junior (as their father had once called them) asked quizzically.

Jake shrugged. "Had a chat with Rapunzel. I was only gone for an hour or two." he took his bulky overcoat off and tossed it onto an old armchair not entirely covered in books. Kicking off his boots, which were no doubt soaked through, he sat himself down between his brother and a towering stack of volumes.

"Well, I guess that now is as good a time as any to open presents." Jake added, making heads snap up.

"We never did much shopping," Veronica pointed out.

"I can fix that." Jake flashed one of the grins that he had worn almost constantly only a couple years ago; Briar's death had turned him into a ghost of girl crazy Jacob Grimm, no longer as cheerful or charming as before. But sometimes that man would seep through the time-worn cracks, illuminating his being for a few moments until he remembered the tragic death of his girlfriend.

How's that for elboration?

Anyways, the tall, blond man began digging through his coat, until he withdrew a small bulap sack. He wrote _the Grimms have been nice this year_, on a peice of paper, then slipped it inside.

"That isn't ..." said Henry, laughing as he said this.

"It is!" Jacob announced. "Got it from the Anderson triplets a few years back...I almost forgot I had it!"

"Umm... could you tell us what this IS?" Sabrina almost felt like laughing, herself. Even if the jolly atmosphere was probably the result of magic.

"Santa Clause's gift bag!" Daphne squealed, unable to resist biting her palm.

**Dundunduuuuuun. Wait, that wasn't a foreboding ending? ...yeah, well, I'm updating for you at two in the morning during MY spring break! So my logic is superior!**

**Hey, let's play a game; (oh, crap, I just lost the game...) Whoever gets this reference first gets a majorly epic shoutout, then they get to pick a new reference for people to guess, and I incoorperate it in the nect chapter! Okay? Okay.**

**Here it is: Pink goes good with green. You're gonna be popular.**


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